Enuresis After Drinking

Asked by MA88 on 2018-05-8 with 1 answer:

I am a fit 27 year old male and have been experiencing accidents at night for two years now. At first it was rarely, after I consumed alcohol. In the past few months I find if I consume even 2-3 drinks (enough to get tipsy) I will wake up in a wet bed almost certainly. The amount of alcohol consumed is not excessive. It is very stressful to sleep in any bed other than mine (cottage, camping).

I brought the issue up with my GP and she referred me to a psychologist first. I was confused, but she suggested my mind might be fearful of wetting associated with drinking, and that the paranoia actually causes me to have the accidents. I’m skeptical of that, but she’s the professional. I’m worried because I was a bed wetter until a later age (12). In the mean time they had me order incontinence supply samples for night time from a website and told me to use those for when I feel I might need them.

Her psychological theory might be worthy of exploration, but you should consider consulting a urologist. A urologist has specialized knowledge regarding urinary tract and reproductive problems. One of their specialties is urinary incontinence.

Alcohol is a diuretic. One approach to eliminating this problem is significantly reducing your alcohol intake or not drinking at all. Aside from ending the enuresis, there are many psychological benefits to reducing or eliminating alcohol.

Counseling could help you to determine if there is a psychological component to the enuresis. But first, consult a urologist to determine if the problem is physical.

You have the same psychological issues and mindset every night when you go to sleep, but you only have a problem on certain nights. Those are the nights when you have been drinking. Perhaps something as simple as not allowing yourself to drink a certain number of hours before sleep would be enough to cure your problem.

Until you find the cure for your problem, I would not drink in the evening knowing that enuresis will follow. It is important not to do anything that you know will cause enuresis. Please discuss this with a urologist.

Please take care.

Dr. Kristina Randle

Enuresis After Drinking

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Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW

Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and Assistant Professor of Social Work and Forensics with extensive experience in the field of mental health. She works in private practice with adults, adolescents and families. Kristina has worked in a large array of settings including community mental health, college counseling and university research centers.